ice ~

One of the most festive parts of my holidays are looking at and creating ice carvings.

This is a skill all elves learn at a young age. After all, we live in the cold and ice year round. We have to make it fun somehow!!

At this years Holiday Extravaganza we are bringing this North Pole festivity to you 😀

Our friends from China were the first recorded people to do ice carving in the 1600s.

They used ice carving for practical purposes like ice lanterns, those smarties.

In 1740, our Russian friends designed an ice palace for Empress Anna!! Sounds a bit like the movie Frozen, but I promise this is history :O

Later, in 1897, the Chinese fishing town of Harbin became a cosmopolitan city where the International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival took place. This is an annual event and NOW features artists from all over the world.

Even though it involves cold weather, this art form is so much fun to experience.